Friday, July 22, 2011

Beautiful but dangerous!

Do you know that balloons were first invented in France in the late 18th century.We use them to delight children and adults at birthday parties and other festive occasions. They are symbols of freedom, childhood and happiness but ... Look at these images of balloons in different colours. They look awesome. Just watching them you feel happy but don't forget that balloons can harm the wildlife. Released balloons can land anywhere. The strings of these balloons have been found twisted around the feet and beaks of marine birds.They have been found in the bellies of plenty of already threatened marine creatures like turtles, dolphins, sharks, whales.Latex is a naturally occurring milky sap that comes from rubber trees (Hevea brasilliensis) that grow in many of the world's rain forests so the latex balloons are naturally biodegradable as well.The total degradation time of a Latex balloon will vary depending on the precise environmental conditions it encounters, but it can be as short as several weeks.

But,it is also the case that after release, latex balloons tend to freeze and shatter in the atmosphere and cause widespread littering.

And the foil balloons? They are made from sandwiched sheets of plastic (polyethylene) and nylon that are then coated with aluminum.Because of the aluminum they are NOT considered to be biodegradable. They can also conduct electricity and they can become entangled with power lines and lead to power outages.